Bio

The Eyebrows – Bio

In fashion, they make or break a look. Some say they frame the windows to the soul.

In Charlotte, NC, they mean a really good, rocking time.

The Eyebrows are a rock band from Charlotte, NC, whose quirky lyrics — coupled with manic-fuzz guitar, beer-soaked bass and a retro backbeat — have brought comparisons to the Talking Heads and Pixies with a touch of The Stranglers and Modern Lovers.

Their name comes from a Frank Zappa quote: “The computer can’t tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what’s missing is the eyebrows.” Lead Eyebrow Jay Garrigan also has a set of pointy blonde, highly mobile eyebrows which have been the subject of some childhood ridicule. As an adult, Jay feels that “eyebrows, much like music, help us express things when we are at a loss for words… and these unsaid things can be both beautifully sculpted or tragically abused.”

No strangers to the scene, The Eyebrows tracked and mixed their debut album, VOLUME, with legendary REM producer Mitch Easter at his Fidelitorium sound studio. Ten tracks have been mastered by Greg Calbi out of Sterling Sound in NYC, and the band plans to release the album themselves in August 2018 on vinyl, CD and digital formats.

Singer/Guitarist Jay Garrigan and drummist Shawn Lynch have played together for over eighteen years in several of Charlotte’s most dynamic rock bands, including both Poprocket and Temperance League. Many people think Jay and Shawn are brothers, not just because they look alike, but because they treat each other like brothers – always finishing each other’s jokes, or having the license to talk shit and simultaneously defend each other.

Jay and Shawn recruited longtime pal and punk rock aficionado Darrin Gray, also of It’s Snakes, to join The Eyebrows in April 2018 on bass. Darrin, Shawn and Jay have played together before in several one-off shows over the years, appearing at charity concerts or the occasional pool party, covering rock classics from David Bowie, The Kinks, Rolling Stones, Richard Hell, Television, and The Ramones.

Jay’s voice has been compared to a mix of Rob Halford, Freddie Mercury and Jeff Buckley, and he tends to write skewed, confessional rock/pop songs. His quirky, left-of-center lyrics and edgy, manic live shows helped win demo deals with major (RCA) and indie (Spectra Records) labels in previous bands.

In humans, eyebrows serve both protective and expressive functions – and the same may be true of The Eyebrows. After taking a forced hiatus from songwriting and performing in 2012 due to painful, life-altering chronic corneal erosion resulted from botched Lasik surgery (details available upon request), Jay became uncreative due to periodic inconsolable pain and the mental noise of getting used to unpredictable and occasional low vision. He quit his band, record deal, and stopped writing and performing music while adjusting to his “new normal”.

It wasn’t until Shawn Lynch (and buddy Bruce Hazel) asked Jay to fill in on bass and keys within Temperance League where Jay re-found his love for performing music. Jay started working on a slew of new material in his home recording studio in 2014, and in 2015 Jay and Shawn started recording and practicing with friends on future The Eyebrows material. After putting out five records with Temperance League, Shawn and Jay gravitated toward making The Eyebrows a priority as a viable, regionally touring act in 2018 and onward.